JOTI SVAROOPA - THE ORIGINAL STATE

All forms are a result of the play of the five elements or Maya, including the human
body. With the form of the body, false ego-sense appears. False ego-sense means
accepting this body as oneself. All our miseries or sufferings begin after this
false "I" consciousness has arisen. Thus in reality the source of
our pain and troubles is none other than this psychological construction called
ego (Haume). Due to material conditionings, the consciousness mistakenly
attaches itself to the body, and, in this body identity, it then works through
innate tendencies, attributes, dispositions or Maya. In this ignorance, we take
our physical body as the base point and see ourselves existing in time and space.
When the consciousness or the life-breath deserts the body, dissolution occurs
and the false "I-am-ness" along with everything disappears. Just as
when there is no sugar, there is no sweetness.

ਪੰਚ ਤਤੁ ਮਿਲਿ ਦੇਹੀ ਕਾ ਆਕਾਰਾ ॥ ਘਟਿ ਵਧਿ ਕੋ ਕਰੈ ਬੀਚਾਰਾ ॥੪॥: Panch tatu mil dehee kaa aakaaraa. Ghat vadh ko krai beechaaraa ||4||: The five elements join together, to make up the form of the human body. Who can say which is less (elements), and which is more (elements)? ||4|| (sggs 1128).

As stated in the preceding verses, the body is made of the five elements. Whatever
has appeared due to the play of the five elements has no substance; for it is
temporary. When the elements are no longer, the body ceases to be. Only that
which was there before the body will remain after the body is finished. What
was their prior to the body or what remains after the body is the Ultimate Reality
— original, unconditioned, undying, unborn, changeless, self-illumined, timeless,
boundless, without name and form, and without identity. And that Universal Principle
is "Joti" or "Light" on which this temporary state
of ego-consciousness or three qualities of Maya has come and gone. This Eternal
Factor is also called God, Waheguru, Parmaatmaan, Raam, Satgur,
and so on.

"Joti" (or Jyoti / jot etc.) simply means light. The
word "Svaroopa" (or Saroop etc.) is made of two
words, namely "Sva" and "Roopa". The first
part "Sva" means "your own", and the second part
"Roopa" means "true state, true image, true embodiment, etc.". We are That
"Joti-Svaroopa" — the true image or true state of God prior
to the movement of the false ego-sense (Haume). The true Dharma of the Soul (Mool...) Truth. The Soul has no other religion.

ਸੋਹੰ ਆਪੁ ਪਛਾਣੀਐ ਸਬਦਿ ਭੇਦਿ ਪਤੀਆਇ ॥: Soham aapu pchhaaneeai sabadi bhedi pteeaai: (When one's mind) is pierced through by the Shabad and is confided (in the Shabad, then one) recognizes within himself that, "He is me" (i.e, then he knows that his Real Nature and God's Nature is one and the same - ਤਦੋਂ ਇਹ ਪਛਾਣ ਆਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਮੇਰਾ ਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਦਾ ਸੁਭਾਉ ਰਲਿਆ ਹੈ). (sggs 60).

ਤਤੁ ਨਿਰੰਜਨੁ ਜੋਤਿ ਸਬਾਈ ਸੋਹੰ ਭੇਦੁ ਨ ਕੋਈ ਜੀਉ ॥:
Tat niranjan joti sabaaee soham bhed na koee jeeo: The essence, the immaculate
Lord, the Light of all — I am He and He is me — there is no difference (sggs
599).

ਤੋਹੀ ਮੋਹੀ ਮੋਹੀ ਤੋਹੀ ਅੰਤਰੁ ਕੈਸਾ ॥ ਕਨਕ ਕਟਿਕ ਜਲ ਤਰੰਗ ਜੈਸਾ ॥੧॥: Tohee mohee mohee tohee antar
kaisaa. Kanak katik jal trang jaisaa ||1||: You are me,
and I am You—what is the difference between us? We are like gold and the bracelet,
or water and the waves ||1|| (sggs 93).

The Gurbani believes there is only One "Joti-Svaroopa" in all.
It is the True Base (Adhaar) or Substratum for all. As ocean is the base of the wave, similarly,
the "Joti-Svaroopa" is the Substratum of our ego-consciousness. Ocean is the metaphor for the the Mool, and the
wave is the metaphor for the false ego, individual identity or manifestation
of the objective world. Our body is the food for this false ego-sense without
which the manifestation or Maya is not present. When the wave subsides, only
ocean remains, which was there before the wave. Similarly, when the false "I"
consciousness subsides, only the "Joti-Svaroopa" remains, which
was present prior to the appearance of the physical body.

The Gurbani thus indicates God created the man in His true image: "Joti-Svaroopa".
From a practical standpoint, what it means is that if God gave the man His true
image than He must have given the man his Divine Qualities as well — truth,
harmony, patience, forgiveness, purity, selflessness, love, goodwill, compassion,
kindness, contentment, knowledge, mercy, humility, even-mindedness, broadmindedness,
peace, joy, faith, moral excellence, discerning intellect, temperance, self-confidence,
forbearance, devotion, modesty, sympathy, fearlessness, and so on. But our "Joti-Svaroopa", the Original state of our True Being, is not clearly seen
all the times. It is not clearly seen when we let the wall of our false ego
stand in the way. When we overcome this false ego-sense, we become one with
our "Joti-Svaroopa". A person is good or bad, depending upon
to what extent he has been able to eradicate his false ego and manifest the
godly Qualities or Divine Nature in him. Hence, as repeatedly reminded by the
Gurbani and the wise men, to manifest our "Joti-Svaroopa" through
every particle of our being and live a Divine Life must be the goal each one
of us has to set for himself.

That "Joti-Svaroopa" — which was present before the birth of
the body and which will be there after the body is gone — is also present now.
But we neither know it nor understand it. Our animal nature is the cause of
this forgetfulness. According to the Gurbani, the difference between our animal
nature and our True Nature is as between darkness and light, between ignorance
and knowledge, between bondage and liberation, between death and life, between
impurity and purity, between falsehood and truth. That is to say, when we think
we are the body, then we are not in the state of "Joti-Svaroopa",
and vice versa. Thus, based on the mentality we have cultivated for ourselves,
some are closer to our "Joti-Svaroopa" in this life, and some are yet
far away or even drifting farther apart.

ਕਰਮੀ ਆਪੋ ਆਪਣੀ ਕੇ ਨੇੜੈ ਕੇ ਦੂਰਿ ॥: Karmee
aapo aapanee ke nerrai ke doori: According
to their own actions, some are near (Akaal Purukh or God), and some are far away (sggs 8).

Therefore, so long the Divine Light remains in the body, we are urged by the
Gurbani shunning our animal nature so that we may know our Essential State (Mool).
This is the purpose of life. And it cannot be accomplished after death. Once
the body-essence has left the body, it will be pronounced dead and useless.
Because the moment the body is finished, the memory of life and everything we
had prior to death will disappear with it. Just as we have no memory of the
period prior to the appearance of the body, similarly, we will not remember
anything after its disappearance. That's why time and again we are asked by
the Gurbani to utilize each breath or consciousness to unravel the mystery of
our "Joti-Svaroopa", while incarnated in this body.

In summary, Aatmaan (Mool...) is the basis or seat and is of the nature
of "Joti-Svaroopa". That is our Original Nature or godly status.
This all-pervasive Cosmic Consciousness illumines the body, thus is the knower
of this body field ("Khet"). So if we wish to see God, the
Gurbani asks us to move within and have His "Darshan" in the
Aatmaan. The Gurbani further tells us that the one
who has realized himself as "Joti-Svaroopa" becomes God-like
himself; for God lives in us as "Joti-Svaroopa" in our inner
psyche, as our own Self. But we are ignorant of it. To remove this cover of
ignorance, the Gurbani wants us to continuously remind ourselves that God is
not faraway, but always present within the body.

As indicated in the Gurbani, the steps for realizing one's "Joti-Svaroopa"
— the state of deliverance — entail eradicating the false ego-sense, renouncing
the crooked ways of the objective world, and transcending the three Gunas
of Maya. To accomplish this task, the conviction that "we are the Joti-Svaroopa and not the physical body" is must. Shabad-Vichaar is the indispensable aid.

:
Gurmukh hovai so mukat kaheeai manmukh bandh vichaare: One who becomes spiritual
being is said to be liberated, while the poor materialists are in bondage
(sggs 796).

The Gurbani also assures us that this "Joti-Svaroopa" — the
Original State or true image before selfish "I-ness" ever dawned on
us — can be experienced spontaneously at this very moment. There is no need
to go anywhere. We can know the Truth right where we are, in the midst of the
happenings of Maya. It is freedom in bondage, or Jeevanmukti while incarnated
(the state of living liberated). In essence, it is the mind completely detached
from the world, which has withdrawn itself within itself. The best example of
this as given in the Gurbani is the lotus flower on the water — it is on the
water, but not wet. Similarly, as indicated in the Gurbani, if we live in the
world and yet not of it, we can become established in the "Joti-Svaroopa",
here and now. That is to say, the real freedom (Mukti) or the spiritual
Light dawns when we transcend the relativist realm of time and possession and
identify only with the Pure Consciousness within, not with the bundle of memories,
habits or tendencies called body.